Presidential timber Re "No comparison," Opinion, Feb. 5 Michael Kinsley portrays Ronald Reagan as a failed leader. Though every presidency has its challenges and shortcomings, Reagan left behind an impressive legacy of achievements: recovery from the economic malaise of the late 1970s, dramatic expansion of freedom in Eastern Europe, and a restoration of American confidence on the world stage. Kinsley denies that Reagan ever championed large defense cuts, having apparently forgotten the historic nuclear arms reduction treaty negotiated with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

By the time Rep. Jane Harman made her departure official Tuesday, a robust field of potential candidates to succeed the Venice Democrat had surfaced. One already had hired a campaign staff, set up a website and begun raising money. "You have to move quickly in this world," said L.A. City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, a Democrat from San Pedro who announced her candidacy and said she had her campaign up and running within two hours of receiving a phone call from Harman shortly after 7 a.m. Monday.

Rep. Jane Harman's appointment as president and chief executive of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars became official Tuesday, a day after the congresswoman announced she would step down. Harman will take over the job on Feb. 28, the center announced. "The time is right for a new challenge, and this is the right challenge," Harman said in a statement. "The privilege of representing the people of California’s 36th Congressional District will likely never be surpassed, and I am grateful to my constituents, staff, and colleagues in the House.

U.S. Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), a leading congressional voice on anti-terrorism issues, plans to resign from Congress to head up the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a senior congressional source confirmed Monday, setting up a special election to choose her successor in a coastal district that stretches from Venice into the South Bay. She is expected to leave her seat soon to succeed former Rep. Lee Hamilton as head of the Washington-based...

Sidney Harman, founder of Harman International Industries Inc., agreed to buy Newsweek magazine from Washington Post Co., ending a three-month bidding process for the money-losing publication. The terms of the deal weren't disclosed. The sale will not have a material effect on Post, the company said in a statement Monday. Post will retain pension assets and liabilities and certain employee obligations. "In seeking a buyer for Newsweek, we wanted someone who feels as strongly as we do about the importance of quality journalism," Donald E. Graham, chairman and chief executive of Post, said in a statement.

Open seats and brisk primary challenges to some incumbent officeholders made for a handful of lively contests for congressional and legislative seats Tuesday, including the Democratic primary in a race to succeed former Assembly Speaker Karen Bass. In that race, Holly Mitchell, head of a child care advocacy group, with most of the vote counted Wednesday morning narrowly defeated Reginald Jones-Sawyer, an asset manager for the city of L.A., in a crowded race. Bass, termed out of the Assembly and running to succeed Rep. Diane Watson (D- Los Angeles)

The candidate, trailed by a volunteer, is knocking on doors in Mar Vista — down Beethoven Street, across Lucille Avenue, along Greenwood Avenue and on. The June 8 election is just weeks away. There is much ground to cover. "I'm Marcy Winograd, and I'm running for Congress," she says, over and over again. Her blue jacket is spotted with rain. "I'm a grass-roots Democrat who believes in jobs and bringing our troops home." Winograd is challenging Rep. Jane Harman, a wealthy eight-term incumbent, in the Democratic primary for the 36 t h Congressional District.

. -- The National Security Agency did not place a wiretap that reportedly intercepted phone conversations made by Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), the top U.S. intelligence official said Monday. Dennis C. Blair, the national intelligence director, declined to say which agency requested the reported wiretap and oversaw the information gleaned from Harman's conversations. Blair was speaking at the dedication of a new intelligence research facility.

Even in a town of bigger-than-life personalities, media mogul Haim Saban stands out -- lion-like in demeanor, furiously determined and unshakably loyal to those people and causes in which he fervently believes. Those causes: Israel, the Democratic Party and medical philanthropy -- in that order. And he has a history of putting his vast fortune behind all three. This week, Saban has found himself entangled in the controversy surrounding Democratic Rep.